FINALLY - managed to update. I want to give a shout out to driger and again to Fletty. Thanks for all the help and inspiration to keep me going. :)


"Where were you?" Max hissed a couple of minutes later.

"I'll tell you tomorrow." Tyson whispered back. "Hiro might still be out there."

Turning on his side a silly smile enveloped his face; he let his mind drift back over his first real kiss.


Chapter Five - Confessions


Tyson was woken up by the sound of his mobile going off. With a groan, he rolled over and checked it sleepily. He pulled a face when he saw Hiro's number. His eyes began to droop when a hand shook his shoulder. Blearily, he looked up to see Max's concerned face.

"What's up, buddy?" he asked tiredly, lying there.

"Tyson, we need to go down and eat. Training starts in just over 2 hours! C'mon, you can also tell me what happened last night, like you promised," Max said, his big, blue eyes pleading with him.

"Fine," he grumbled, staggering out of bed. He grabbed some training clothes and stumbled towards the shower, calling over his shoulder, "So what's the schedule like today? Any changes?"

"Breakfast; training for three hours; lunch; the first lot of the Second-Round bouts. Then two more hours of training after the rounds have finished, and we go for dinner," Max called out, loudly, through the door. He heard with amusement the sound of irritated mutters. The blonde's phone went off and he looked at it.

Kai: How's sleeping beauty?

Max gave a snort of laughter before replying.

Max: Grumbling about having to get up early and train. Same old. Do you know what happened last night with Ty?

Max put his phone aside and began to gather all of his practise gear together, neatly packing it away into his bag. Halfway through the process, his phone went off again. He paused momentarily to look at it.

Kai: No. Ray is not being very helpful on that matter.

Max raised an eyebrow at that comment. So Tyson was with Ray. Hmmm. Interesting.

Max: Well that's more than I knew. Text you back if I manage to get anything more out of him. :)

He sent the text and continued with his packing. As an afterthought, he went to Tyson's gear and began to sort through the mess for the day's necessities. With a sigh at his friend's disorganised mess, he began to sift through everything. As he began to put Tyson's gear into his training bag, he heard the water shut off and Tyson staggering out of the shower. Less than two minutes later, the blunette came out of the bathroom with a dreamy look on his face.

"Tyson?" he asked with amusement.

The blunette looked at him quizzically. "Max?" he asked.

"Okay... spill!" Max demanded. Tyson looked at him with a pleading look.

"Can't we eat first, Maxie? You know how I get when I haven't eaten," he said with a whine in his voice. Puppy dog eyes made Max relent a little. He rolled his eyes dramatically at the blunette, who retaliated by poking out his tongue. With a laugh, Max scooped up the room key and ushered his friend out the door.

Less than five minutes later, they were seated in the hotel restaurant, tucking into heaped plates of food. Brooklyn wandered over with a yawn. "Ready to put your nose to the grindstone, guys?" he asked, picking up his fork.

Tyson just gave him a look while still inhaling his food. Max nodded in the affirmative. "Just need to pick up our bags from our room after we finish here. You?"

"Yeah, same. Daichi's in the bad books with Hiro at the moment. Not quite sure of the reason yet, but I'm quite sure the Chief will let us know later," Brooklyn answered with a shrug. With single-minded intensity, the boys all returned their attention to their food, ignoring everyone else around them.

Tyson sat back in his chair after finishing his last mouthful and noticed that Kai was suddenly there, looking at him weirdly. Confused, he looked at the older man and then realised that Ray was also there, standing beside him. The raven haired Chinese fighter flashed him a lazy smile, which he shyly returned.

"Know him?" Brooklyn asked quietly into his ear. Tyson turned to see his older teammate only inches from his face. He jerked away, a little surprised. Aqua eyes regarded him with a hint of amusement.

"Yeah," Tyson answered tersely, looking at Ray. His new friend's face had gone blank and suddenly watched the pair of them studiously, like a tiger ready to pounce.

"World Champ. Smooth fighter. Fast. Intelligent, and knows how to strike the right blow at the right time. Doesn't waste any energy unnecessarily," Brooklyn stated from his knowledge, watching Kai and Ray with interest.

"You know him?" the blunette asked curiously.

"Not personally. I had to withdraw from my bout with him at the last championship after I injured myself during training. I've since had two years to study his actions and bouts. I will win this next round," He replied, confidently. Tyson glanced back towards Ray with a slightly worried look. The orange haired fighter nudged him lightly.

"So…what are your plans for this evening?" Brooklyn asked him with a slightly raised eyebrow. Tyson blinked a couple of times, as he tried to assess the statement.

"Ahhh. M-meeting up with some friends from the o-other teams," Tyson answered, looking down to hide his embarrassment. A hand gently clasped his knee. He jumped in surprise, trying to fight back an oncoming blush. He sent a pleading look to his best friend.

Max knew something was wrong and tried to diffuse the situation hurriedly. "C'mon, Ty... we need to get our stuff for the practise match!"

Hiro then chose that moment to walk in, and upon seeing the red-faced Tyson, immediately made a detour towards their table. "Come with me," he said quietly, giving the blunette a stern look.

Tyson jumped up like a shot, extremely glad to be away from the sudden, uncomfortable situation that his teammate had put him in. He followed Hiro meekly into a small area. His brother studied him with a hint of concern. Gently, he placed a hand on his brother's burning cheeks and forehead, noting the heat.

"I want you to go back to your room and sleep. Once it is lunchtime, I will come and get you. I want you to see the bouts this afternoon and if you are still feeling unwell you will only be doing light training. You have been working really hard for the last 6 months and it won't hurt to rest you for your matches," Hiro said thoughtfully. Tyson looked up at his brother, and mumbled a quiet thankyou.

His brother motioned for Tyson to precede him into the hotel lift. Max chose that moment to walk out of the restaurant. "Max; you have forty-five minutes until I see you in the training area. Tyson will be resting, as he is feeling unwell."

Brooklyn sauntered past them, which made the younger blunette's face flush a ripe red again. He averted his eyes to his shoes and meekly followed Max when the blonde tugged on his arm. Hiro delayed the orange haired fighter to discuss the training schedule, while the two made their escape. With his back turned, the older blunette didn't see Kai or Ray, following the pair into the lift.


ts


Tyson was tired and after entering the lift, he lent back against the cold metal and closed his eyes. He jerked violently when he felt someone brush against him. He turned to look at the interloper and fell into liquid gold eyes. Once again embarrassed, he looked away shyly and saw Max and Kai sniggering at him.

He glared back at them, and then jumped slightly when Ray, who was pressed against him, took his hand. Shyly. he looked back at Ray, flushing an even riper red. He was given an amused smirk.

"You okay? You look a bit flushed," Ray teased. That caused muffled laughter from his so-called friend and his rival.

"F-f-fine," He stammered back, cursing his inept tongue. He shot another glare at the pair behind Ray and opened his mouth to scold them, when the lift door dinged.

"This is our floor... see you later," Ray said with good natured amusement, giving Tyson's hand a final squeeze before walking out. Max gave Kai a friendly clap on the back, before turning back to Tyson when the doors had closed.

"Not a word, Maxie," Tyson said, with a mulish look. He stomped out of the lift when the doors re-opened on their floor, leading the way to their room. He was glad that he was to have a rest from training this morning; then he could work out what the hell was happening!

After they had bundled into the room, the blonde turned an accusatory look on the blunette. "You promised, Ty!" he said reproachfully. Tyson kicked off his shoes and clambered into his bed. He looked at Max with a shy look.

"I got a message from Kai last night. It said there was an emergency and that he needed to talk to me about something. I was really worried, because normally he would need to talk to you, not me. So I went down to see him, but it was Ray. He'd pinched Kai's phone, to text me. We walked off to the park near Summerset road. He showed me how to get to the little island there. We talked, and..."

"And?" Max enquired.

"-and ended up kissing." Tyson said bashfully, watching his best friend.

Max just gave a broad smile, blue eyes sparkling with mischief. "Are you serious?" the blonde asked, excitedly. When Tyson nodded, red-faced, the blonde glomped him. After a few minutes, the hug turned into good-natured wrestling, after the blonde made some suggestive comments. After Tyson managed to push him off his bed, his younger friend picked himself up and jauntily perched himself back on the bed again.

"So what was going on with you and Brooklyn, then? I've never seen you so uncomfortable," Max said, studying his friend's face.

"I think he was hitting on me," Tyson said, with a confused look. "He asked me what I was doing later and then put his hand on my knee. I could have been completely misreading everything, but I'm not sure anymore."

Max just gave him a thoughtful look, but was interrupted from replying by a knock at the door. The door beeped as Hiro swiped his access card and entered the room. "You are supposed to be sleeping," he growled at the blunette. "Max: training room, now."

Max scooped up his gear and scuttled out the door. Hiro gave his brother a measuring look. "I will be back in three hours. I'll expect to see you sleeping."

Tyson nodded his understanding and watched Hiro leave. With a patient sigh, he slid back into his bed, enjoying the comfort. His eyes soon began to droop despite his best efforts, and he fell asleep.


So another chapter done and dusted. Since I will finally have time off for Christmas I will definitely adding a little more to the next chapter. Hope you enjoy reading it. And please review. I love hearing people's suggestions and ideas for new chapters especially if it is constructive.

Lots of love

Storm